More than 34 children 'killed in Syria' since ceasefire

More than 34 children have allegedly been killed in Syria since a shaky truce
between President Bashar al-Assad's security forces and opposition groups
took hold on April 12, the UN special envoy for children and armed conflict
has claimed.

Vehicles that were damaged following blasts in IdlibPhoto: AFP/GETTY

3:58PM BST 01 May 2012

"Since a truce was agreed on April 12 ... and despite the deployment of United Nations ceasefire monitors, more than 34 children have allegedly been killed," special envoy Radhika Coomaraswamy said in a statement.

"I urge all parties in Syria to refrain from indiscriminate tactics resulting in the killing and wounding of children," she said.

12 troops were also killed in clashes with rebels just hours after a new UN call for all sides to respect a troubled truce.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said it was vital that government and opposition alike cooperate fully with a hard-won UN observer force as it fans out in its mission to shore up the ceasefire agreement that took effect on April 12.

But despite his appeal, human rights monitors reported no let-up in the violence, a day after a series of blasts condemned by Ban as "terrorist bomb attacks" killed more than 20 people.

Nine members of a single family were among the 10 killed in the regime bombardment of a village in Idlib province in the northwest, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A mortar round slammed into their home in Mashmashan village near the town of Jisr al-Shughur, the watchdog said, adding that four women and two children were among the dead.

Outside Damascus, an 80-year-old man was killed in the town of Qatna by gunfire from a minibus, the Observatory said. It cited residents as saying the vehicle belonged to the security forces.

In Deir Ezzor province in the northeast, 12 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebel fighters, the watchdog added.

One civilian was also killed during the fighting in the Busayra area of the province, in which troops responded with missile and heavy machinegun fire, it said.

Mr Ban called on all sides to work with the UN observer mission as it expands from the current advance party of 30 to a promised full complement of 300 in the coming days and weeks.

"While noting improvements in areas where UN monitors are deployed, the secretary general remains gravely concerned by reports of continued violence, killing and abuses in Syria in recent days," a statement said.

He called "for armed violence in all its forms by all parties to cease immediately and full cooperation of all parties with the work of UN Supervision Mission in Syria as it expands its presence on the ground."

Two observers are already deployed in Idlib, a province bordering Turkey where rebel fighters of the Free Syrian Army have been active. There are none in Deir Ezzor.

Two observers each have been deployed in three other protest centres - the flashpoint central cities of Hama and Homs, and Dera'a province, south of Damascus and cradle of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime that broke out in March last year.

The other 22 remain based in the capital.

In Monday's violence, bombings rocked Idlib city and the Damascus suburbs, with the deadliest hitting security buildings in Idlib.

"The blasts targeted two security headquarters, one housing air force intelligence and the other military intelligence," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The official SANA news agency said "terrorists" were behind the attacks by "suicide bombers."

State television broadcast footage of blood stains on the ground, and groups of angry people denouncing the violence and expressing support for Assad's regime.

"Is this the freedom they want?" shouted one man, standing near a woman who was carrying a child with blood running down his forehead.

In his statement, the UN chief condemned what he called "terrorist bomb attacks" in Idlib and Damascus.

But the opposition Syrian National Council again accused the authorities of orchestrating the violence.

"The Assad regime is trying in various ways to mislead and distract (UN) observers in order to prevent them carrying out their work," the SNC said, calling for "an international commission of inquiry to uncover who was behind the explosions."